Those attending the summit want to "come away with a good consensus and basis for a national framework," said Nahanni Fontaine, the province's special advisor on aboriginal women's issues.

The Assembly of First Nations is pushing for a national inquiry into the fate of hundreds of missing and slain women.

The assembly and other groups say an inquiry is needed to examine how police have handled missing persons cases, as well as the social and economic factors that make aboriginal women more prone to violence.

But the federal government has rejected the demand, and the provinces appear lukewarm.

Eric Robinson, Manitoba's minister of aboriginal affairs, has said an inquiry would be expensive and there may be better options.

Robinson said he invited three federal cabinet ministers to this week's meeting, but they are sending department officials instead.

Most of the two-day meeting will be held behind closed doors. The ministers will announce their findings when the meeting wraps up on Friday.

'Very little hope'

Among those who came to Winnipeg are three siblings of Evangeline Billy, who was found beaten and drowned in the Yukon River in Whitehorse in 2008.

Logan Blanchard, Billy's brother, said he and his two sisters travelled from Yukon to Winnipeg to support other families who have lost loved ones.